In 2009, the Metropolitan Planning Commission and Knoxville City Council adopted the Magnolia Avenue Corridor Plan. The purpose of the plan was to create opportunities to enhance development along Magnolia Avenue, including the north end of downtown, the Hall of Fame-Caswell Park area, Burlington, and the areas in between. One opportunity called out in the plan was for Magnolia Avenue to be redesigned on the following recommendations:

• Sidewalks would be enhanced
• Bike lanes would be made more functional (wider and/or resurfaced to eliminate concrete seams)
• Street trees and landscaping, including landscapded medians, would offer traffic calming and define the sidewalk system
• On-street parking would be identified more clearly

In 2014, the Magnolia Avenue Streetscape Report was completed, identifying a portion of the Magnolia Avenue Corridor best suited to create a streetscape "model block" for which the rest of the corridor would follow. A six block section of Magnolia Avenue from Jessamine Street to North Bertrand Street was selected as the model block where streetscape improvements will begin.

PUBLIC MEETING JAN. 21, 2016

A public meeting to review design details for the streetscape improvements to the model block section of Magnolia Avenue was held on Thursday, January 21, 2016 at the John T. O'Connor Senior Center.

If you would like to review all comments received during this period please click on public comments. The Office of Redevelopment reviewed all comments and provided responses.

FUNDING AND PHASING

On April 27, 2016, Mayor Madeline Rogero announced that $4.39 million was placed in the 2016-2017 capital improvement program for the four-block model section of Magnolia Avenue from Jessamine Street to Myrtle Street for streetscape improvements.

On April 28, 2017, Mayor Madeline Rogero announced that $5 million was placed in the 2017-2018 capital improvement program for the final four-block model section of Magnolia Avenue from Myrtle Street to Bertrand Street for streetscape improvements.

OPEN HOUSE JULY 23, 2018

City staff along with Vaughn & Melton who is performing construction, engineering and inspection services, and The Franklin Group, the general contractor will all be on hand providing an opportunity to chat one-on-one about Phase 1 of the Magnolia Avenue Streetscapes Project before construction begins Summer 2018. The open house will be from 5:30pm to 7:00pm at the John T. O'Connor Senior Center (611 Winona Street)

The following are construction plans for Phase 1 that were discussed at the open house meeting. Phase 1 improvements start just east of the Casey Jones bridge along Magnolia Avenue and terminate on the east side of the Myrtle Street and Magnolia Avenue intersection.

Hardscape Layout (Proposed) - Phase 1 [PDF]The Hardscape Layout shows the location, type and number of street fixtures such as benches, trash receptacles, and bike racks. Bus shelter pads for future bus shelters to be provided by the Knoxville Area Transit are also shown.

Street & Pedestrian Lighting (Proposed) - Phase 1 [PDF]The Street & Pedestrian Lighting shows the location and number of roadway and pedestrian lighting fixtures in the public right of way. There is also a sheet that provides the type of roadway and pedestrian lighting to be used.

Gateway Monument (Proposed) [PDF]The Gateway Monument will be located in the northeast corner of the Jessamine Street and Magnolia Avenue intersection. The monument will provide a sense of place and identification to motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians as they enter the Magnolia Avenue corridor traveling east from Hall of Fame Drive.